Various solutions have been proposed for reducing the size of an aperture through a panel, such as a ceiling or wall panel. In particular, problems exist where for example an existing aperture of a certain size has been made to accommodate, say a lighting fixture or a conduit to pass through the panel, but then that fixture or conduit is to be replaced with a smaller size which no longer needs the existing aperture size.
Indeed, where the aperture size for the replacement fixture or conduit or any other such device extending through an aperture is smaller than the existing aperture, there becomes a problem as to how to adequately reduce the aperture whilst also ameliorating the gap between the existing aperture side wall and the size of the device to extending through the panel.
Typically an existing aperture may be in-filled by using a piece or pieces of the same (or different) panel material. However, the jointed region between such in-fill materials and the panel itself may be weak or may weaken of fail over time. For example, where there is an existing circular aperture through a ceiling panel and that existing aperture is to be reduced in size, an annular ring of material may be cut to be inserted into the existing aperture to provide the new aperture size. The joint between the outer surface of the annular ring and the panel may be connected to each other using joint tapes and layers of concealing material (e.g. plaster). However such a solution still presents problems as the joint region may fail or weaken, leading to problems of cracked concealing material (plaster) or other finishing materials (e.g. paints).
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for altering the shape or size of an existing aperture through a panel and/or which will go at least some way towards addressing the foregoing problems or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.
In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents is not to be construed as an admission that such documents, or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art, or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.